Why Disagreement Makes Engagement More Important
There is a tendency today to treat engagement as endorsement. If you disagree with someone’s politics or policies, the instinct can be to disengage entirely.
I think leadership requires something different.
I was recently appointed to New York City Mayor Mamdani’s Business Advisory Council. There are policies where I agree with the mayor and others where I disagree. But I love New York City, and if a mayor, governor, or president asks for my advice or support in helping the city, state, or country succeed, I feel compelled to offer whatever I can.
In fact, disagreement can make engagement even more important.
Look at What Is Actually Happening
One of the principles we have discussed often on Crossing the Chasm is the importance of not getting drowned out by noise.
There were plenty of predictions about what would happen to New York under a new administration. But leaders have to separate predictions and headlines from facts on the ground.
Today, New York is flourishing. People are coming to the city. Companies are leasing space. People are renting apartments. There is extraordinary vitality and energy.
My interactions with the administration have also been constructive. When business leaders raise issues, members of the administration have been responsive and engaged.
That matters.
Agree on the Problem, Debate the Solution
There are also areas where I agree with the mayor’s diagnosis.
New York has an affordability problem. We have a housing problem. Many people, particularly younger New Yorkers, feel they do not have access to the same opportunities previous generations had.
Those challenges are real.
Where we may disagree is on the prescription.
That distinction is critical because too much of our discourse today skips over complexity. People want simple answers, and political movements are often rewarded for providing them. But housing, affordability, economic development, and opportunity are complicated issues. Solving them requires nuanced policies and conversations between people with different perspectives.
Business needs to have a voice in those conversations.
Stay in the Room
In 2017, I had the honor of taking Martin Luther King III to meet then President-elect Trump on the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday.
Martin told me that some of his colleagues had pressured him not to attend. When I asked why he decided to go, he explained that his father believed disagreement was precisely when people needed to come together and talk.
That stayed with me.
If we stop talking whenever we disagree, the result is greater division. If we stay engaged, we at least have an opportunity to explain our perspective, understand someone else’s and perhaps find areas of common ground.
As AI, algorithms, and digital platforms increasingly shape what people see and hear, those personal interactions may become even more important.
Leadership does not require agreement.
Sometimes it requires being willing to stay in the room.
-Scott Rechler
